


At Ease

by sundrygenre



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Bipolar Ian, M/M, Mechanic Mickey, Minor Character Death, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rich Ian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 14:26:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5008261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundrygenre/pseuds/sundrygenre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ian is in the army and living with a secret, and Mickey is raising his son in the South Side and dealing with a few secrets of his own.<br/>Updates will probably be every Saturday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Home

Lip woke up to someone pulling on his fingertips. He groaned, for years now, this had been Ian’s way of signaling to his brother that he wanted to talk. Ian hadn’t relied on this system for over three months however, after his coming out and his older brother’s less than stellar reaction.

_“So like, sucking dicks?”_

Lip wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he missed the contact with his brother, so, despite his lack of sleep the last two nights in a row (due to a binge of essay writing to feed the squirrel fund), Lip rolled over and threw on a pair of sweatpants, following his brother down the stairs and outside. Ian was already nervously fumbling for a cigarette when Lip approached, the flickering light illuminated the 15 year olds bright eyes and spastic smattering of freckles. His bright hair seemed to glow under the safety of their rickety porch.

“Whats-”

“Before you say anything. Just-just let me get this out.” Ian said nervously, turning over the lighter in his hands. Lip nodded, plucking the small device from his brother, and lighting his own cigarette. “I wanna make something of myself Lip. I want to get out of here, I-I feel like there’s something inside of me- I’m worried that...I’m worried that I might be like Monica.”

“What do you mean, like Monica?”

“I think, I might be a little crazy.” Ian turned to his brother with big eyes. “That’s why I have to get out. I can’t be another coked up head case like all the others around here. I want to escape, I want something for myself. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life struggling to stash money away from Frank, and going on drug-runs or whatever the hell kids do around here. I was thinking about…”

As Ian trailed off Lip noticed for what must have been the hundredth time how big his brother’s eyes were. They were shiny and terrified as he looked at him, full of hope, scared of rejection.

“I want to go to West Point. I want to join the army.”

Lip sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke before turning to his brother.

“Then let’s get you there.”

 

Ian Gallagher was one the the best and most celebrated officers in the United States. He smiled as he rolled up his uniform and crawled into his bunk that night, the sounds of his soldiers laughs and chants bouncing off the walls next door. Ian felt at home, he felt safe. With his earnings over the past six years, Ian had made sure that his family was safe as well, when Fiona had refused to move from the South Side, Ian had sided with her, and with his brother’s help, had bought Fi and the kids a nicer home, away from their father, on the outskirts of the North Side district.

Lip had made a name for himself as well. With Ian’s influence, and Lip’s engineering expertise, the two had become influential technological suppliers for the U.S, Lip handled the more complicated aspects while Ian remained the sparkling All-American poster boy persona for the company, handling media coverage, and deciding what products would prove most useful for the army. Ian was proud to serve, and was sad to leave his home away from home on his base in the Middle East. He knew however that Lip would be happy to see him and was ready to join back into the company life that he had been neglecting the past year.

Ian heard one of the lower ranking officers running past his room with a loud cry and sighed, he wished that he was out there, celebrating the last day for several of his fellow soldiers but Ian had an important secret to keep. The redhead reached for the small unidentifiable bottle of white pills kept stashed under his pillow, unscrewing the lid. Ian carefully took his mood stabilizers and swallowed them down with a glass of water near his bedside.

Lip was the only person Ian trusted with his secret. He knew that if anyone got wind of his bi-polar disorder that he would be immediately discharged. Crazy people can’t own a gun, can’t join the army, can’t live a happy and productive life as far was Ian was concerned. This was a part of him that would always have to stay hidden. Ian listened to the men signing in a slurred harmony and laughed to himself, he was going to miss this.

 

“What’s happening Papa?” Yevgeny asked in earnestly pulling on his father’s sleeve with wide and shockingly blue eyes.

“Fuck if I know kid.” Mickey replied smoothing back the four year old's hair with a tattooed hand. The two were huddled together in the Chicago winter air as the trudged toward their usually bus station on the way home from Yev’s day-care center. Yev pulled himself further into his father’s warmth, adjusting his small cap and frowning.

“Why is that woman crying?” Mickey looked to see a young woman in a much-too-large coat sobbing as a man in an army uniform rushed towards her, the sign she was holding flew from her hands before fluttering towards the ground. WELCOME HOME.

“She’s happy Yev. Her boyfriend has come home.”

“Then why is she crying?” Yev asked, wrinkling his nose.

Mickey laughed. “People have weird ways of showing their happiness kid.”

Mickey saw his regular bus wheezing up the street and sighed, he grabbed for Yev’s hand and began walking towards their ride when he bumped into someone. “Oh my goodness.

Sorry!” choked out Mickey’s attacker.

“S’alright man.” Mickey looked up into a pair of wide green eyes.

Ian paused searching the young man’s face, he was squinting at the red-head with a shocked and grumpy expression, his nose red from the cold, his blue eyes staring harshly into Ian’s. The officer squirmed, feeling suddenly nervous. The guy was attractive.

“Come on Papa!” Said a small voice to Ian’s right.

“Sure thing kid.” Said the man, smiling down at what appeared to be his son.

“I really am sorry, here” Ian reached into his pocket for a few quarters. “Let me pay for your fare or something, least I can do.”

The rolled his eyes and scratched at his nose with a finger reading F. “It’s fine dude, really I’ve been through a lot worse.”

“Are you in the army?” said the small voice.

“Yev!” scolded the man.

“Yes. Ur..yes I am.” The boy, Yev, nodded, digesting the information. His father took his hand and began walking towards their bus.

“What’s your name?” Ian shouted after the man suddenly, against his better judgement. The man turned with raised brows, eyeing him carefully.

“Mickey.” He said simply.

Ian gulped and the words gushed from him “I’m Ian.”

“Whatever.” grumbled Mickey, before grabbing his son’s hand and boarding their bus. Ian smiled.

 


	2. Interconnected Parts

“Thanks for meeting me at the bus stop,dear loving brother, it’s not like I didn’t just come back from war or anything.” Lip rolled his eyes, pulling his brother into an embrace and punching his shoulder.

“Stop being so dramatic asshole, somebody’s gotta run this company.”

Ian gave Lip his toothiest, widest Gallagher grin and plopped down in the chair adjacent to his brother’s large desk in his large, over the top office.

“So man, how you been?” Ian knew it was loaded question.

When his soldiers asked him, when Fiona or Debby asked him, when his friends asked him how he was doing, they could only pitch the question as far as their understanding of Ian went. Lip knew so much more about his brother. He knew about the year leading up to Ian’s application to West Point. He knew about all the drugs, and the partying and the men who kept his brother at the seedy club he worked at down town. Lip was the one they called when Ian had a breakdown inside the Kash and Grab where he worked, and began throwing chip bags and customers and had been there to calm him down during the panic attack after that had resulted in a garbled rant about the voices in his mind trying to destroy him. Lip knew it all.

“Fine. I’m alright now. Weird to be home.”

Lip nodded, apparently satisfied with his brother’s answer. “We’ve got some work for you man, stuff still left to go over. They love seeing you, hearing your perspective and all that shit. The stuff I don’t know about. Now that you’re here, I hope your ready to do something.”

Ian nodded, he had enjoyed his lazy afternoon yesterday getting reacquainted with his apartment, but now it was time to throw himself back into action. Ian was shark, always moving and active. Every morning he ran his usual five miles, did his favorite series of exercises, ate healthy, stayed active. Ian was meant for a life of constant movement.

“Where at?”

Lip smiled again, “I’ve got a driver, Kyle, bit crazy, but a great guy, he’ll show you around. You’ve first got to pitch to this auto parts manufacturer. They’ve got some inventory we’re going to need if we plan on mass producing the M-7. Shit’s nothing without their consent.”

Lip debriefed him on the information he needed, luckily in simplified terms. Ian adjusted the collar of his itchy button down, so different from his usual cargo pants and ARMY t-shirt, and climbed into the sleek black car set up for him.

****  
  


Mickey was getting irritated. He had once again found himself making a run for Marco, who always left him with the short end of the stick. Mickey had been on break when the guys had all come up with excuses as to why they couldn’t pick up the part for grumpy, rich Mrs. Lender's  Pontiac. Mrs. Lender was an absolute bitch, who carried around a ridiculous and twitchy little dog under her arm, and wore a never ending series of hideous and ridiculously colored hats.

Mickey wiggled in his seat, he had been there for over an hour and Remmy had yet to be seen. His friend was supposed to be his inside to quickly getting the part he needed. You had to have an inside at this shop. It was one of the only large scale specialty shops in Chicago which made it popular and exclusive, but the other problem was that the owner was an absolute lunatic named James, with a permanently ascue hair piece and a cigarette always lodged on the corner of his mouth.

Last time Mickey had had to deal with James the man had begun ranting about the government and how he suspected that they were in league with the North Koreans to end all American life. Mickey was used to the mad ramblings of a drunk, but something about all the smoke billowing from the thick man’s mouth, and the fact that he was stone-cold sober (as far as Mick could tell) unnerved him. He hoped not to have to deal with good old James for a while.

Someone entered the shop from Mickey's right with a slam of the large glass doors. He turned hoping unrealistically for his friend. Instead he saw what probably was the most attractive person of all fucking time.

The guy was built, his strong chest straining in his dark green button down, his neck was covered in a splash of random freckles and his mouth turned up in a shy smile when he saw Mickey something that made his stomach hurt. The man smoothed at his fiery red hair and took a seat near the small thug.

“Hello again.” Mickey’s mind suddenly wired to life again, and he remembered the guy as the same dumb soldier who had bumped into him and Yev only yesterday.

“Mickey right?” He raised his brows, surprised the guy had remembered.

“Yup”

There was a beat of silence before- “Ian. I’m Ian.” Mickey rolled his eyes. “I remember man.” Ian smiled again, “Really? Nice to know you put me so high on your list Mr.Mickey.”  Mickey snorted, highly uncomfortable with the situation, the guy was so chipper and attractive and talkative, the young father had no idea what to do in such a situation.

“Do you know where I sign in around here? I need to meet with..” Ian looked down at a large stack of papers. “Mr. Harvey James.”

Mickey shook his head, smirking. “There’s nowhere to sign in around here. James fired his last secretary ‘cause he thought she was planning something against him or some shit. Now he and his crew just randomly attend to people waiting out here as they see fit. It could take you an hour just to meet with someone man.”

Now Ian’s brows raised. “That makes no sense. They have to be losing business that way.”

Mickey shrugged. Ian seemed to deflate in his chair as he realised he wasn’t going to be getting any help any time soon. The men sat in silence for a moment before Ian, as talkative as ever, decided to break it.

“What’s your son’s name again?”

Mickey looked shocked for a moment, he turned to look at the other men in the waiting room, something like fear passing through his features. When he seemed satisfied after scanning the entire space he answered the admittedly random question.

“His names Yev, Yevgeny”

Ian nodded, a little off put by the strange reaction. “That’s an interesting one, never heard that before.”

“It’s Russian. He’s half native so.” Mickey shrugged, the name had seemed a little insane at first but it had grown on him, Yev was simply Yev, it didn’t seem so strange anymore.

“How old is he?”

“Four.”

“He reminds me of my little brother at that age. Real cute.”

“He’s a bit wild.”

“Nothing wrong with that” Mickey’s stomach cramped again when Ian directly into his eyes. it was then that Remmy finally entered holding something wrapped a brown paper bag.

“Mick! Man, I’m sorry, place has been swamped, James is out today and he didn’t warn any of us, so we’ve all taken on extra clients.”

“S’all good man!” Mickey answered, pulling out the company check in his pocket and handing it over to his friend.

Remmy handed over the package before reaching for the check, examining it with a frown.

“You’re always cutting me short Mick.”

“And you're always trying to pass shit by me. We know that part isn’t worth what you asked for. Take it or leave it Rem.”The man pocketed the check and slapped Mickey’s shoulder, turning back from where he came from, “Good seeing you asshole.”

“Wait!” Ian shouted behind him, “Did you say the owner is out?”

Remy nodded solemnly, “Yeah man, don’t know when he’ll be back.” Ian sighed as Remmy walked away. Leaving him, standing alone with Mickey.

Mick adjusted the part in his arms and turned to leave when Ian called bravely.

“Do you want to grab lunch with me?”

Mickey’s brows, once again raised, apparently Ian had that effect on him. “I’ll pay, and your boss probably isn’t expecting you for a while, considering how crazy things are around here.” Ian was right, Mickey had been planning to abuse that excuse to run by his favorite sandwich shop before heading back to the garage.

“Why?” asked Mickey. They had only just met, the whole situation was strange.

Ian shrugged, “Don’t know, I’m hungry, I’ve got some time to kill. Just got back in town and I was hoping to meet some new people.”

Mickey shrugged. “As long as you’re paying.”

 

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late upload. Saturday was a bit crazy. This chapter is a little rushed and for that I'm sorry, wanted to get it up ASAP. Hope you liked it. Love comments if you've got some!


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